Tag: pitching drills

Prior to about 2004, I too once believed that pitching drills were the “Holy Grail” of teaching and correcting mechanical faults. After reading what the research says about the value of pitching drills for improving mechanics…I no longer feel that way, in fact, I believe drills may be one of the biggest reasons why pitchers…

In this day and age of advanced knowledge of pitching biomechanics, off-season and in-season strength and conditioning programs, advanced pitching clinics, franchised baseball schools, dozens upon dozens of pitching drills, pitching training aids of all sorts as well as long distance throwing programs, it would seem that boosting pitching performance at the high school and…

One of the things that people ask all the time is “How do you make changes in mechanics?” You know, I have got some mechanical faults; my son’s got mechanical faults. What do I do? Well, the first thing you have to do is identify the right fault to work on. Obviously, if you work…

Most pitchers, instructors and coaches believe that in order to improve pitching mechanics, pitchers simply need to do pitching drills such as the towel drill. However, sports science research confirms that partial practice actions like pitching drills do not work to improve pitching mechanics. As I have said many times before, once I started reading…

What is the optimum age to get baseball pitching instruction or to pay for pitching lessons? That is a loaded question. The fact is, much of today’s instruction is very poor because neither parents or instructors use videotaping. Without using videotaping parents and instructors are just guessing since pitching is a very complex movement that…

Tim Lincecum’s father was recently interviewed online about his advice on how to help improve Tim’s pitching velocity from it’s present average speed of 91 mph back up to 95 mph as it was 2 and 3 years ago. I recall watching Tim in his first big league start throw two pitches at 100 mph….

This is a good example of a 9-year-old Little League pitcher with very natural but explosive pitching mechanics. This occurs very naturally when pitchers are not over-coached using pitching drills. When the focus in on using the lower body to provide power instead of just the arm, then even beginner pitchers are able to create an…

How can you be sure you are following correct pitching advice so that your mechanics, velocity, control and functional strength improve for the upcoming season? Important Steps Toward Pitching Improvement Here are 7 steps you can follow to insure that pitching skills improve and pitchers are “game ready” when the season begins. First of all…

In order for kids to become skilled as pitchers, they must learn how to pitch by doing more practice pitching than is currently believed. This is according to the most recent sports science research. Right now baseball coaches and instructors are recommending too many practice activities that do not transfer to helping a pitcher improve,…

Many pitchers will struggle from time to time and pitch below a normal performance level. What should parents and coaches do when this occurs? Some Areas to Consider when Pitchers All of a Sudden Start to Struggle Since pitching is a skill activity, have pitching mechanics changed? Have coaches or instructors recently made a mechanical…

Here are some common causes of pitching arm injuries that can also affect pitching velocity and control: Poor pitching mechanics Lack of conditioning or doing the wrong workout Weight lifting Overuse throwing Lack of proper warm-up Not throwing enough pitches in practice to keep the pitcher “fit to pitch” for games Arm Pain Can Affect…

Many parents don’t know how to teach pitching velocity to young Little League pitchers. Most have been led to believe that beginner pitchers must first do pitching drills. Pitching drills, in fact, are a poor way to start teaching a pitcher how to pitch. Pitching Drills Produce Slow and Robotic Pitchers Because of pitching drills,…

This is the time of year pitchers are exposed to a lot of pitching clinics. Of course, what every clinic emphasizes is a method of increasing pitching velocity quickly normally by using a certain practice activities. However, there is a big problem with group pitching clinics because they violate an important sports science principle –…

Is long toss for pitchers valuable for improving pitching velocity or for decreasing the risk of injury. There is no evidence that supports either. But the beliefs about how valuable long toss is for pitching continues to be perpetuated by coaches and instructors. Some of the reasons you will hear about why long toss is…

One of the most important and yet least understood areas of pitching improvement by coaches at all levels, including professional baseball, is what to do in practice in order to help pitchers improve. Or, what training activities to do during the offseason. There is a principle in sports science that is applicable to all sports….

Pitchers want to know if there are pitching training activities that can improve pitching velocity. Here is some information that was forwarded to me by a client. And, here is my response regarding why these two training activities will not help a pitcher improve his velocity let alone get to 90 mph. Hi Mr. Mills,…

The claims of how pitchers should train during the offseason are coming high and hard from baseball schools all around the country and from roving clinics. This will go on into the offseason. Here is one claim below that is very enticing. This philosophy is being sold all around the country in the form of…

Eliminating time-wasting activities such as drills, long toss, or flat ground pitching, would force all coaches and pitching instructors to educate themselves about pitching mechanics. How different would clinics be without pitching drills? I imagine drills and other irrelevant practice activities, such as long toss or flat ground pitching, take up at least 50 percent…

A pitching guru, who has 100-something videos on YouTube, recently said that he recommends pitchers spend 80 percent of their pitching workout time pitching on flat ground and only 20 percent pitching from the mound. Does this make sense to anyone? It shouldn’t. His reasoning for pitching much more often on flat ground is that…

Many pitching instructors will tell pitchers to slow down their delivery in order to improve their mechanics. But does this make sense? If your pitching practice workout is always at a slow pace, won’t you end up moving slower and then throwing slower? A while back I worked with a former AA left-handed pitcher who…

Bringing The Gap Between Fundamentals & Innovations In Pitching.

In 2004 we developed the first evidence-based pitching program based on sports science research, instead of common coaching beliefs. Through this research we've also learned video analysis is still the best and most accurate way to assess pitching mechanics. We not only show pitchers at all levels their faults and the adjustments, but work with there style in order to improve their velocity and control, all while reducing their risk of arm injuries. The true difference about our coaching methods are simple, our clients will truly feel the difference and that's the only true way towards improvement and development.